Deep Blue Sea Blog Post

Intro

Deep Blue Sea is a Sci-Fi film that attempts to answer the "age-old question"... what if sharks were smarter, faster, bigger and stronger? Deep Blue Sea poses this question and completely delivers an answer. A research team led by Dr. Susan McAlester are performing research at an underwater facility in the middle of the ocean aptly named 'Aquatica' on mako sharks with the goal of using the shark's protein as a means to reverse brain deteriorating diseases such as Alzheimer's since sharks seem to never develop brain diseases or get cancer. After a shark escapes from Aquatica and nearly eats a couple of teenagers partying on a catamaran, the research team's integrity is called into question. Dr. McAlester with the threat of losing funding makes a plea to the head of Chimera Pharmaceuticals, Russell Franklin. She remarks to Franklin that they are on the brink of success and he only needs to see for himself to change his mind. Franklin decides to visit Aquatica and is very impressed with the size and depth to which the facility goes. Susan, one of the researchers tells Franklin that the shark's brains had been increased by using a "hormonal enhancer" because gene therapy is against Chimera Policy. In reality, Dr. McAlester has secretly genetically engineered the sharks in every way in order to increase the size of the grey matter of the sharks. This, however, has adverse consequences. The sharks become smarter and gain knowledge that is essential on hunting the humans studying them. The main cast and audience are first made aware of the gain in intelligence when one of the sharks swims backward. Susan makes it abundantly clear that "SHARKS CANT SWIM BACKWARD ITS IMPOSSIBLE." The shark is then sedated and brought into the lab in order to harvest the protein made in the brain in order to test the protein on Alzheimer's brain cells. When the protein is added to the human cells, we see the brain cells start interacting with each other again. The audience believes that all is well and the scientists have found a cure for degenerative neural diseases. This is when the movie takes its fatal turn. The shark awakens from its anesthesia and promptly rips the arm off of one of the doctors. After releasing the shark, they call in a helicopter to come pick up the doctor while a major storm is hitting the base. When the helicopter winch fails, the doctor falls into the water where the sharks are. The shark grabs a hold of the doctor's stretcher underwater and proceeds to pull the helicopter into the above ground area of Aquatica causing massive damage and uses the doctor's body to break the glass in the main chamber of Aquatica. This causes flooding where sharks are able to take out the crew one by one until Preacher and Carter Blake are left in ruins to be picked up after taking out the last shark.

Fact or Fiction?

Deep Blue Sea has to be one of the most scientifically lenient movies I've ever seen. The first inaccuracy I want to point out is that no matter how intelligent you make a shark, that shark will never be able to swim backward due to their physiological nature. (http://www.sharkfriends.com/sharks/info6.html) Unless the bodies were changed as well, no gain of brain matter could allow the sharks to move backward. Instead, they use this as a glaring warning to the audience that there is something different with these sharks. They also view sharks as invaluable research material because of their invulnerability to cancer and degenerative neural diseases. This, however, is false because in 2013 a Great White shark was found to have a tumor on its lower jaw. (https://www.livescience.com/41655-great-white-shark-cancer.html) Gene therapy can work in increasing brain size but as of right now that's impossible in 2018 so it definitely was impossible in 1999. I also have a problem with the sharks gaining grey matter mass equals sharks gaining knowledge that they never had before. If you increased my brain mass somehow, I wouldn't automatically know theoretical physics, much like a shark wouldn't know to herd the research team in unknown corridors. I'm also confident that in 1999, one couldn't extract protein from an animal's brain while keeping it alive. I do believe however that blowing up the shark, in the end, is 100% accurate and refuse to believe anything else due to the sheer awesomeness that takes place. With gene therapy advancements being made daily, I'm sure that there might be an animal in the near future with enhanced neural capabilities. If we can use CRISPR on us, why can't we use it on other animals?

Personal Reaction

Personally, I liked the movie. I absolutely loved the scene where Russell Franklin is eaten mere seconds after giving such a powerful speech. It was a nice twist to a movie that relied on unknown actors which I think added to the suspense of the movie. I don't agree with us being able to use raw protein from a sharks brain in order to revitalize damaged human cells. But I do believe that even though the science of the movie is wack, I believe that an organization could very well be conducting illegal research for the sake of bettering the human race. I think that's already been done and will continue to be done. I also believe that cosmetic gene therapy is unethical for humans then gene therapy is unethical for animals like sharks. I also think Susan McAlester is stupid for jumping completely in the water instead of just splashing the water with her bloody hand. She's solely responsible for everyone's death and I'm glad she died even though she died in the most unnecessary way possible.

GATTACA Blog Post

Intro

GATTACA is a sci-fi film that covers the topic of eugenics. In this future society, embryos are genetically modified to give babies only the best genes from both parents. The movie follows Vincent Anton Freeman is a natural born person, free of genetic editing. This leaves him with a high risk of a heart condition. Because of his "inferior" genetics, he is labeled as an "in-valid" or one who is unfit on a genetic level to be apart of the space program, GATTACA. His dream is to venture into the final frontier of space but is unable to attain his dream because of the probability of his heart condition. Vincent is a man ambition though so he decides to take on the identity of a man named Jerome Jarre who is genetically superior in every way Jerome broke his back which left him wheelchair bound. Jerome decides to sell his identity to Vincent by a black market dealer since he has no use for his body anymore. Vincentt's road to becoming Jerome is an arduous one. He has surgery that lengthens his height, has to learn to write with this right hand and thoroughly cleans his skin every single morning so as to not leave any genetic traces of his in-valid genetics at the company that could out him. He also uses the blood of Jerome in finger pricks to bypass security checks and Jerome's urine to bypass physicals given by Dr. Lamar. After many twists and turns including a murder investigation, Vincent is reunited with his genetically superior brother, Anton who is now a detective working the homicide case at GATTACA. When they were younger Vincent beat Anton in a swimming competition even though, Anton should've won because of his genetic advantages. This introduces the theme of fate into the movie. We see Vincent, a left handed ADD kid who should have a heart condition is the top employee at GATTACA and is due to leave for the moon Titan in a week. After many events we see Jerome getting his real urine tested by Dr. Lamar mere minutes before he is supposed to leave for Titan. Dr. Lamar tells Vincent about his son, who is genetically inferior and wished he had a role model to look up to. That no matter what hand your dealt, you can overcome any obstacle. Because Vincent doesn't have Jerome's urine, he has to test his own. Dr. Lamar remarks during the testing that his son is "not everything they promised" but then says "but then again who knows what he could do." It is revealed that Dr. Lamar knew Vincent was in-valid the whole time but was inspired by him because he reminds him of his son. Dr. Lamar changes his test to valid and allows Vincent to achieve his dream of space travel.

Fact or Fiction?

I think that additional science is needed to explain the film. We can already sequence DNA as I have when I spit into a vial for 23andme. But to efficiently identify someone from urine is something that we can't due just yet. The lack of DNA in urine provides a poor and inefficient way to use in identification according to Amy Smuts in her article "DNA from Urine as a Potential Source of Identification" [https://www.promega.com/-/media/files/resources/conference-proceedings/ishi-10/poster-abstracts/38smuts.pdf?la=en]. We already have a window into the future of editing genomes with efficiency but we aren't there yet. Deleting and replacing faulty genes with desirable ones using the CRISPR-CAS9  has already been done to embryos in 2015 by Chinese researchers. [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13238-015-0153-5/fulltext.html] But we are still unable to delete any and every gene at will to replace with only the most successful genes given by both parents. There's also the case for the 12 fingered pianist being genetically engineered to play the song that requires 12 fingers. Scientists have already engineered mice to process a protein that glows under flourescnet light so being able to genetically engineer a human to add a couple fingers can't be far off. I would be willing to bet in 50 years that we will see more Captain America type humans being made in order to limit unwanted genetic disorders.

Personal Reaction

I personally didn't agree with the ethics of choosing people on a purely genetic basis. As we see in the movie, Vincent beats his genetically superior brother in a swimming race twice which shouldn't be possible. This just goes to show that a being as complicated as a human shouldn't be limited to the information prescribed to them at birth. I see this discrimination happening at very low levels already. A 6'6" baskeball player is usually going to be preferred over a 6'1" basketball player. Because of the increased height which is purely genetic as the saying goes "you can't teach height". However there are many Vincent's in basketball who have the skillset to overcome genetic hurdles such as Chris Paul (6'0") and Allen Iverson (6'0") or Muggsy Bogues (5'3"). These men carved out Hall of Fame careers in the NBA by dominating other players who are 6-8 inches taller than them. This goes to show that just because a person is genetically superior doesn't mean they are superior in skill or ambition. A man who is gifted with a photographic memory but doesn't work will never best a man with moderate intelligence who works his butt off. This movie also gives me hope in that even a wreck like me can succeed as a doctor if I work hard enough. Great movie. Loved the helix staircase that represented DNA. 11 Adenines out of 10 Thymines.

The Boyz from Brasil Blog Post

Intro

In the film, 'Boys from Brazil', the movie takes place in both Europe, Paraguay, and America in the 1970s. The main character, Ezra Lieberman is a Nazi hunter who hears a tip from a young boy that there is a plot being schemed by Nazi's who have found sanctuary in Paraguay, South America. The main antagonist is the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele has developed a plot to recreate Adolph Hitler by inserting Hitler's DNA into 94 different mothers eggs and then growing the babies in vivo. Thinking that DNA isn't enough, Dr. Mengele attempts to recreate Hitler's childhood by replicating their surrounding environments as accurately he could. All 94 children were growing up with a smothering lovable mother and a civil servant father who gave the children tough upbringings. To further enforce the environment, he hires assassins to kill all fathers at a certain age. To consolidate, Ezra discovers the plot and in the end, comes face to face with Mengele at a North American "Hitler child's" home. After Mengele is killed by the boy, and after promising the boy not to reveal to the police of what the boy had done, Ezra is transferred to a hospital to recover. Ezra also had a list of the location of all 94 children while hospitalized. After meeting another Nazi hunter who wants the list to expose the plot to the world, in an effort to end another Hitler being raised, Ezra burns the list. His reason being that they are only children, deeming them innocent.

Fact or Fiction?

I do agree that additional science is needed to explain the film. Mostly because even as I type this, don't have all the information in order to make a perfect Human clone. Scientists in China only recently were able to clone a Rhesus monkey. (https://www.sciencealert.com/monkeys-cloned-for-the-first-time-somatic-cell-nuclear-transfer-dolly) This after 100 failed attempts, however. Just imagine how many failed Human attempts needed to be had in order to even get an embryo past its first few divisions. The ethical implications regardless if the science was there is enough for this to be outlawed. I did enjoy however that Dr. Mengele didn't stop at nuclear transfer but also knew that a similar nurture habitat was needed in order to increase the chances of success. A flaw, however, was the use of nuclear transfer in order to develop identical children. After reading the article Cloning Myths, (http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cloning/cloningmyths/) I learned that using nuclear transfer won't reproduce genetically identical clones. We get our mitochondrial DNA from our mothers which reside in the egg. As the embryo develops they retain their mothers mitochondrial DNA which leads to genetically different children. I do agree that if the science was correct that Dr. Mengele did take the proper precautions of producing 94 children. Even Dr. Mengele realized that no matter how identical the DNA and the environment the child is still its own person. Because of the lack of understanding of the science and the mishandling of the cloning process, I believe that this could have never taken place in 1978. Maybe they can make another movie in 25-50 years by making 94 baby Trumps in order to rule the world. 

Personal Reaction

I personally didn't agree with the ethics of growing babies for a specific purpose. I also disagree with growing a twin for the sole purpose of helping the original child who is in need of an organ. To clone a human for a purpose that is not to live a full life deemed on their own is unethical in my opinion and most governments agree on my side. I also agreed with the choice that Ezra made in burning the list. Allowing the already 14-year-old children the right to life was the correct decision to make as they are deemed innocent. Creating life for a purpose and taking a life for an unthecal purpose in my book is strictly taboo. As Natasha Beddingield once said, "The future is still unwritten."

Extra Blog 3

The final addition to the three extra five hundred blog posts has started. I am so pumped to be at Clemson and to be finishing my first year at Clemson. It really has flown by and I have learned many things and I love the friends I have made and all the things God has shown me and revealed to me about what I should do. I have also found my little niche of friends. They are good guys and great influences. I am so glad to have friends like those. I knew Clemson was the right university for me and I am so glad to be going here and to be a Tiger for four years. I would not have it any other way. Now time for my favorite part of the blog post, some ad analyzing! Look at this amazing ad. The ad shows a man connected to a hot air balloon with a can of Pringles in his hand and blowing fire into the balloon to make him float. He is above a city which reminds me of certain parts of China or Seattle because it is so smoggy. The ad is advertising Hot & Spicy Pringles. The Pringles are so hot that you will be breathing fire and what better way to utilize breathing fire than connecting yourself to a hot air balloon and floating around the sky. You would never have to worry about traffic and you would get everywhere much faster and with less hassle. I hate spicy things and food items but I could overlook it if I could do this. I do not know if people would want to eat something that make them breathe fire. I know it is an exaggeration but it is still kind of scary. Fire benders, Charizard and all those guys are mischievous and dangerous. Fire is not something to play around with and if put in the wrong hands, it could be extremely dangerous. That is why I would have to be super careful with these chips of ultimate power.

This next ad is so amazingly awesome. It is an ad for Timotei Natural Style Shampoo and Conditioner. It shows a lion, likely in the Serengeti lying in a grassy field. But one thing is different; the lion’s hair is super, duper, uber fabulous. Who knew that some shampoo could tame the mane of the king of the jungle? Pathos is used to produce a feeling of humor to the audience. Seeing a lion with a polished and flowing mane is pretty funny and gets the point across that even this shampoo can tame a lion’s mane. I will be using this shampoo because I have bushy unruly hair like my fellow lion here. And if it can fix his hair, it can definitely fix mine.

This next ad is for Maglite, a flashlight that is super bright and very intense. The ad shows a security guard burning a hole in the painting using his flashlight. The company is trying to convey that their flashlight is the strongest and best flashlight around. I think they prove it pretty well considering I don’t see any other flashlight burning holes in stuff. I am totally getting it.

Extra Blog 2

This is the second part of writing three extra five hundred word blogs in hopes that these will save my grade and save me from the holy wrath of my father, who really wants me to get an A. So for these three blog posts we are going to look at so many ads it is going to make your eyes hurt so prepare yourself. Our first ad is for the product made by the company Pattex. What this advertisement is showing is that their glue is super strong.  The ad shows an old couple stuck together, the old woman has a smile on her face while the old man is frowning in disdain. I do not know if I used the right word there… Disdain? Oh well his face shows much disdain. This glue could be so strong that maybe the ad is saying that they got stuck together when they were young and full of life and now they are old and grey. I guess being literally stuck to someone for sixty years would get kind of old to. The ethos of this is that their glue must be really good if they can stick to people together for sixty years. That is improving their credibility of their product and themselves as a company. Pathos is used in this ad as well by invoking a certain feeling of awe in the ads audience. I know when I saw it, I thought, “wow I cannot believe that the glue worked that well for so long that the couple got super old! What a wonderfully dangerous yet strong product!”  There is not much logos here though. Why would two people stick themselves together and honestly what kind of glue can last that long. The ad makes use of humor to appeal its product to its audience. I am a big fan of this ad. I like the humor used and the fact that two people could be stuck together for sixty something years. Also I enjoy the “Everybody Loves Raymond” couple where Marie is all smiles and Frank just can’t stand being stuck with her.

This next picture is very striking. It is an ad for the WWF or the World Wide Fund for Nature. The ad shows what looks to be a forest in the shape of two lungs in a large green landscape. One of the “lungs” has be partially cleared or deforested. These missing trees mean we get less oxygen so it shows that the lungs are literally disappearing. That is why we need to stop useless deforestation. The more we clear, the less oxygen we have and last time I checked, humans can’t live without oxygen. This uses a lot of pathos. It makes me feel scared and worried for our world’s future. I don’t want to live in the cold sleek metal future of tomorrow. I want to live in a wooded glen and be happy that I can breathe fresh air. I love trees.

Extra Blog 1

So this is my first extra blog I am doing in order to somehow avoid the unquenching wrath of my father. I really am sorry I missed an extra day. I could not even leave the toilet because of how sick I was. There was really nothing I could do. Please have mercy on me. I cannot afford a B because I missed one class when I put so much hard work in and tried my best, only to have the grade stripped from me. I hope you feel generous or merciful and help me out, because I really did not mean to miss that day. Anyway let us analyze some ads! This is a really funny ad that many people can relate to because of all the pathos contained in it. The ad is for Fraich Frites Special Friteuse. This is in French and when translated to English, it reads “Fresh Fries Special Fryer.” OOH it sounds super yummy and delicious. Anyway, the ad shows a little French girl with a very agitated visage getting her cheeks pinched by what I would think are her grandmas hands. Then the product is shown in the top right and text underneath says “Granny’s fries without the Granny.” There is pathos because everyone can relate to getting their cheeks pinched and I mean the cheeks on your face, by your grandma and how unbelievably awful it was. But one thing that threw me off is that she makes fries. I have never heard of a grandma making amazing, delicious, homemade fries. My grandma makes the stereotypical cookies and amazing cheese toast with lots of garlic. So a grandma making fries is kind of weird to me. But I can feel for the little girl that I would rather eat the delicious food without numb cheeks. This ad is also humorous. I feel that humor is very prevalent in ads because people respond well to humor usually. Anyway I really love this ad and I can totally relate to it except for the weird grandma making fries thing. I never got passed that aspect of the ad. Another thing is that the company is saying that their packaged fries are as good as granny’s cooking. That is a bold statement to put your food equal to granny’s food. But hey, their ad works and for that reason I will be eating these Fraiche Fries and get my grandma to make some fries and compare which are better. It might be a little complicated getting all the way to France to buy these fries though. It might not be that cost effective. I bet Amazon has them. I will find a way, no matter what it takes.

This company called Toyo, a company that apparently makes tires made a pretty “gripping” ad… Get it? Their claim is that their tires have grip like an octopi’s suction cups. Everyone knows that an octopus has amazing grip to most surfaces so those tires must be really amazing. I thought this is a very interesting ad.

Blog 11

The photo displayed above is an advertisement for Denver Water.  At first glance, we see that the bench has about three quarters of the bright orange seat missing, revealing the dull concrete posts and the minimal support of the metal bars.  Although this ad does not have much going on, it clearly represents the exact message that Denver Water is trying to get across; use only what you need.  While further analyzing the advertisement, the message from Denver Water became even more apparent to me through their attention to detail and symbolism.  The color orange represents sunshine, determination, and joy.  The use of the color orange in this advertisement is minimal and that is because they are trying to convey to us that using only what we need will give us a sense of pride and happiness because we are doing something nice for the environment.  The green grass symbolizes what we have now, an abundance of fresh water.  However, the concrete symbolizes what we will have in the future if we keep overindulging with the amount of water we use.  The advertisement engages pathos by making us feel guilty for using too much water.  They want us to visibly see what it looks like to use only what we need by showing a seat only big enough for one person to sit down on.  The advertisement also engages ethos because of the company who is displaying this ad.  Denver Water is an influential water company who people would listen to when it comes to water resources.  Finally, the advertisement captures logos because of its logical appeal.  This advertisement makes you think rationally.  If we use more water than is necessary, what is going to happen?  The advertisement is well thought out and conveys the exact message that Denver Water was trying to create